Screen Time with Keelin Moncrieff
What does your screen time look like?
Welcome to Screen Time, a series where we dig into a person’s internet history and see how the World Wide Web and social media have shaped them.
Not many social media influencers can exist, and most importantly thrive, making content that simply reflects their day-to-day lives—especially in the age of “niching down”. Take a look at some of the biggest names in the industry and most of the time they’ll have a niche, be it makeup, fashion or education; structured and predictable content is what the algorithm likes.
Keelin Moncrieff (but you might know her as @kee_mon) is not one of those creators, which is exactly why I like her. I first became aware of Keelin in around 2017, when I started to dabble in making content and became more aware of fellow Irish creators. Off the bat, I was so jealous that she was a YouTuber (the coolest genre of content creator if you ask me) and I immediately saw why people connected to her content; she was personable, witty, funny and opinionated in a time where influencers were exclusively picture-perfect.
Keelin hasn’t shied away from changing her focus over the years and her audience has listened to her talk about sustainability, veganism, motherhood and matrescence. I’ve listened to her recite poetry, she’s sang, she’s danced, she’s podcasted, she’s read books, she’s fallen in love, she’s broken up and she’s made mistakes.
I’d argue that Keelin has something much more powerful than a niche; her audience may come for the YouTube videos, but they stay for Keelin, happy to experience whatever tickles her fancy.
Keelin and I are about 8 years apart in age, so I was naturally fascinated to find out how the internet has impacted her “coming-of-age” as a “Zillenial” who was exposed to the internet much younger than I was. I was also curious to find out whether any of those formative moments online influenced her natural kinship with the camera or inspired her career in content creation.
Jenny: What’s one of your earliest memories of using or accessing the internet/social media?
Keelin: My first memories were, of course, Club Penguin. I begged my parents for the paid membership for Christmas. I’m getting so old I can barely remember what it looked like or how exactly you even “played” it but I distinctly remember fighting over the PC with my sisters.
As I grew up it went to Bebo, I had an album called ‘me.’ which was just selfies of 11-year-old me plastered in makeup, my status at the time was “I love smexy legs” I have no idea where that came from.
Jenny: Is there a website or social media platform you grew up using that helped shape you as an adult?
Keelin: I would say YouTube had a huge influence on me growing up. I watched all the emerging YouTubers of that era from Bethany Mota to grav3yardgirl.
Around the same time, reality TV shows were growing in popularity like Geordie Shore, Jersey Shore, Big Brother etc. but I loved having the one on one “parasocial relationship” with YouTubers that made me feel less alone. I found it difficult to make & keep friends as a teenager but YouTubers were usually introverts/loners too, so I felt like I had a safe space online
Jenny: What’s your social media pet peeve?
Keelin: My biggest pet peeve online is the lack of awareness about what happens online vs. real life, or people taking what's posted online as EVERYTHING that happens in a day. For eg. if you don’t post with a person for a while people will assume you’re not friends, it reinforces the idea that if you didn’t post about it, it didn’t happen.
This creates unhealthy boundaries regarding what people think is appropriate to post online. Not everything is content and what’s posted online is never the full picture
Jenny: What’s a website you couldn’t live without?
Keelin: A website I couldn't live without is Spotify - I spend so much time in the car so I’m always listening to a new audiobook or podcast. The playlist I use to put my daughter to sleep is on Spotify & I can play wheels on the bus for her if she’s losing her shit in the back seat.
Jenny: What’s your favourite comfort YouTube channel or genre?
Keelin: My favourite YouTube channel/genre is hippies living off grid - I eat it up for breakfast, lunch & dinner.
One of my favourites is Isabel Paige, it’s essentially the same video every week of her cooking, sewing, swimming & general life in her off-grid cabin in the woods. Every shot is cinematic but the content is inoffensive and calming. I also love Hitomi Mochizuki but I think it’s just because I fancy her.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Have you made any IRL friends via the Internet?
All of my mam friends I’ve made, have been through the internet, it’s been fantastic to be able to have parent friends that are a similar age & personality to me that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet organically.
Who is your favourite person/influencer to follow at the moment?
I love Kevin Twomey and Pj Kirby. After I had Kevin on my podcast I desperately wanted him to like me/befriend me. It was pathetic. They’re so funny I love them.
What’s your most toxic social media habit?
My most toxic social media habit is comparison. I will compare myself to anyone, regardless of whether I know them or not. If I spend too long on social media I’ll find my negative self-talk focusing on not being pretty enough, not having nice outfits, not going on enough holidays or being a bad parent. I don’t think about those things nearly as much as when I’m offline.